PUBLISHER: Thank you staff, COVID notes.

I want to recognize The Chronicle’s staff. In the midst of a global pandemic, they haven’t missed a day and remain committed to providing you with local news each week.

Vic MacDonald is our editor. He’s a writer, photographer and gathers the content.

Vic, and wife, Pat, had planned a weeklong vacation, but that changed with COVID-19. The spring is a lot quieter this year for Vic, as he’s used to covering events and not sickness.

Pam Benefield is our outside sales representative. Up until the governor’s shelter-in-place order, she was still visiting businesses. Pam is committed to her customers and spends money with her clients regularly. She cares about what they’re going through with COVID-19 and wants to help.

Each Thursday, Pam organizes lunch, where The Chronicle can give back to a local restaurant. She also takes our donations to United Ministries.

Shea Dillinger is our bookkeeper. She does the billing and collections. We started locking the front door with the governor’s shelter-in-place order, but she still opens it to help customers. She has four kids at home to keep her hopping during quarantine.

Debbie Ray is our inside sales representative. Debbie has been working at home throughout the crisis. At The Chronicle, family comes first and she’s been following all guidelines to insure herself and husband, Bubba, stay safe.

Jamie Bishop and Drew Rhodes deliver our papers for rack and box sales each Wednesday. They are on the frontline. They never complain, using social distancing to protect themselves.

We’re also glad to have Ava Machione, a senior at Clinton High School, as our typesetter. She can’t go to school, but can come to the paper for some extra spending money.

Ray Riley has been sheltering in place during the emergency. Pete Cochran and Fletcher Pruitt don’t have any local sports to photograph, but are ready when they do.

You might not think of newspaper employees as heroes, but they are heroes in my book. They were heroes before the pandemic and they’re superheroes now. Their hard work and sacrifice ensure that The Chronicle can survive during the worst of times.

COVID NOTES:

• I defy anyone to name one thing that my wife and I have not done during the pandemic to entertain a homebound 7-year-old.

• Sunday drives are a thing again. We’ve taken trips to Ninety Six, Saluda, Union and Greer. More trips TBA, as gas is cheap enough.

• On Sunday, we added a new member to the family, a new kitten, Diego. He’s just what my daughter needed to stay focused on being a kid and not on a virus.

• My wife and daughter have done a lot of baking and I’m getting fatter.

• I tried to wear a facemask grocery shopping last week and it almost started a sneezing fit, which I’m sure wouldn’t have gone over well.

• My wife and daughter have planted a small garden and I look forward to tomatoes and peppers.

• I love online worship, but I’ll have to find a drive-in service to break the monotony and get out of the house.

• Yellowstone returns on June 21, so I’ll have something to watch on TV.

• Watching national media cover the pandemic is like a slow lobotomy. Nobody is doing a good job. Don’t group the newspaper you are holding with national media — we are the press, not the media.

• Politicians (Democrat and Republican) have done a hell of a job managing this pandemic (sarcasm).

• Thank you to all the front line professions, with a shoutout to healthcare, grocery stores and trucking.

• Businesses are starting to open up to help save livelihoods, but we can’t be stupid —follow the guidelines on social distancing.

• Listen to the experts. Stay away from people when you can. We’ll get through this.

Brian Whitmore is the publisher of The Chronicle. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Chronicle. Whitmore can be reached at publisher@clintonchronicle.net